“Did you listen to recordings to study this piece?” The first time I performed the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto in 2007, I listened to a recording by Vladimir Horowitz as a model for the shape and the message of the piece as well as to study the interweaving of the piano and orchestral parts. This time,… [continue reading]
Archive for ‘Concerts’
Rachmaninoff Third, Part Four
Thursday, May 26th, 2011Rachmaninoff Third, Part Three
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011“How long did it take you to learn the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto, and with how much practicing?” I owned the score as long ago as 1977. I would take it off the shelf and play through the parts of it that I liked the best at the time. I occasionally did that over the years…. [continue reading]
Rachmaninoff Third, Part Two
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011“Is the Rachmaninoff Third the hardest concerto to play?” The Rachmaninoff Third is called the King of Concertos by some people. It is the piano concerto equivalent of Mount Everest. Everything about it is “more”: there are more notes, there are more minutes, there is more emotional power, there are more technical challenges, there is… [continue reading]
Rachmaninoff Third, Part One
Monday, May 23rd, 2011This is going to be a multi-installment blog about my experience performing the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto in Maryland with the Frederick Symphony Orchestra on May 7, 2011. It will answer the questions that audience members asked me afterwards. It will also answer my own question, which is: why was this the best concert I ever… [continue reading]